Satan spreads his wings and laughs: Ozzfest at the Gorge review

Ear Candy spent the day at the Gorge Saturday taking in the metallic madness that was the second day of Ozzfest 2007. The full report is below. A photo gallery from Ozzfest and an interview with Wayne Static of Static-X are coming soon.
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Since rock n’ roll is the devil’s music it was only fitting that it was hotter than hell at the Gorge Amphitheatre for the second stop of the 2007 edition of Ozzfest.

While the temperatures reached the upper 90s, making it plenty hot for the crowd, the fans had it easy compared to how hot the members of Taiwanese band Chthonic must have felt. Dressed up in black and white face paint and lots of black leather with spiky metal studs, the group looked like the Asian detachment of the Kiss army when they took to the second stage at 12:45 in thh afternoon. Chthonic’s set began with a snarling roar from vocalist, Freddy the Left Face of Maradou (yes, that’s his name), that sounded like a cat coughing up a hairball. It was the first of countless guttural growls of the day.

Kiss army rejects Chthonic. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

Speaking of hair, since it was hotter than the oven Satan’s kitchen at the Gorge, that meant plenty of shirtless metal dudes (and the occasional metal chick) in the crowd, which possibly was the ugliest collection of diehard music lovers on the planet. There was way too much unnecessarily exposed body fat and body hair seen throughout the day.

However, what they lacked in looks, the fans made up for in pure enthusiasm. Considering this year’s Ozzfest was free not many of the bands were the top-notch breed of metal headliners from past fests. Translation: most of the bands on the bill just weren’t that impressive. But each band received hundreds of rock-saluting devil’s horns hand gestures and the crowd seemed to eat up every intense minute of every song.

The Showdown banging their heads 1980s style. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

It was as if once the squeals of shredding guitars and bombast of double bass drums kicked in so did fans’ adrenaline from the visceral concert going experience that is Ozzfest, making every band sound like metal heroes in their ears. Either that or most of the crowd figured they couldn’t complain since it was a free concert. Well, free minus the $20 for parking.

While there wasn’t one overly impressive set on the second stage – that may have been because each band was limited to 20 minutes – some bands fared better than others. The Showdown stuck to the tried and true metal formula of band members with long hair coupled with wailing guitars, sort of a heavier and louder throwback to the metal bands of the 1980s. Vancouver, B.C. band Three Inches of Blood, performed without one of their vocalists, Jaime Hooper, who was ordered not to perform for the entire tour by a doctor due to a throat infection.

Nick Oliveri should have stuck with QOTSA. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

Borderline supergroup Circus Diablo, which features the odd combination of members of The Cult and Fuel, did a decent job ofcoming across as a poor man’s Velvet Revolver, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Someone has to represent pop radio metal on Ozzfest, and Circus Diablo’s set that included a cover of the Sex Pistols “Pretty Vacant” proved pop metal isn’t too bad after all.

Another band with a former member of a high-profile band, Mondo Generator, didn’t fare as well as Circus Diablo. Fronted by former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri, the group seemed to just be going through the motions, displaying little energy and a lackluster stage presence. The band did win points by playing two Queens songs, “Ode To Clarissa” and “Tensionhead.”

On the main stage, Finnish freakshow Lordi was the most entertaining band of the day. Consider this five-piece the European alternative to Gwar. The band was decked out in costumes that made them look like monsters that would appear in Freddy Kreuger’s nightmares. The songs, including “Bringing the Balls Back to Rock” and others, were lighthearted metal fare. But the fans weren’t watching Lordi for the music, it was the pure spectacle of pyrotechnic towers of flames and exploding fireworks that accentuated their songs that kept the crowd enraptured by this monstrosity of rock.

Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

The evil disco of Static-X followed. The band played the shortest main stage set but easily outperformed every band on the bill in the energy and intensity department. “Lovedump,” “Cannibal,” “Destroyer” and other songs from the group’s arsenal that combines industrial grime rock with metal were perfect selections to set the table for Richmond, Va. Band Lamb of God.

Wayne Static of Static-X. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

Of course, it wouldn’t have been an Ozzfest without Ozzy and when the sun finally relented its assault on the crowd as darkness set it, the Ozzman cameth. For his part Ozzy played the role of host well, digging into his vault of solo hits including “Crazy Train,” “Mama I’m Coming Home,” “Bark at the Moon,” “Mr. Crowley” and others. The songs were accentuated by the guitar acrobatics of Zakk Wylde, who showed he has inherited the heavy metal guitar god throne from Brother Dime. A few classic Sabbath songs made their way into the set list too, including “War Pigs,” and the evening-ending “Paranoid.”

It was fun to watch Ozzy soak the crowd with water and flash his sinister smile while doing jumping jacks between verses, although his banter with the audience was a little confusing. At one point he was playfully calling the crowd an unprintable four-letter word and later during the same song he said “I love you all.”

I suppose that’s just how things work when you’re heavy metal’s senile Uncle Ozzy who went off the rails on the crazy trail quite some time ago.

Thanks for the free show Ozzy, but next year please put some better bands on the second stage. Travis Hay/Ear Candy

Ozzy’s set list:

Bark at the Moon
Mr. Crowley
Not Going Away
War Pigs
Road to Nowhere
Suicide Solution
I Don’t Know
I’m Here For You
Don’t Want to Change the World
Mama, I’m Coming Home
Crazy Train
ENCORE
Paranoid